Events relating to southeast asia
After a four-month siege of the city Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila, from which he was ejected in 1942 by the Japanese
William Slim drives the Japanese from Mandalay and moves on south to take Rangoon
Aung San's army, now named the Burma National Army, changes sides in a surprise move and attacks the Japanese
With the surrender of the Japanese, Vietminh guerrillas seize the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh proclaims the democratic republic of Vietnam, independent of the colonial power, France
Aung San's party, the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, wins a landslide victory in the Burmese election
The Indochina War breaks out in Vietnam between the French colonial forces and the Vietminh
33-year old Aung San, prime minister of Burma, and six of his ministers are assassinated during a cabinet meeting
The Dutch concede independence for Indonesia with Achmed Sukarno as president
Cambodia wins independence from the colonial power, France
Hungarian photographer Robert Capa is killed by a land mine in Vietnam
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends with the surrender to the Vietminh of 12,000 French troops
The French abandon Vietnam, leaving the country divided at the seventeenth parallel
In an armistice ending the Indochina War, France acknowledges the independence of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
Norodom Sihanouk abdicates as king of Cambodia and becomes the country's prime minister
With US backing, South Vietnam declares itself an independent republic
Abdul Rahman Putra becomes the first prime minister of independent Malaya
Lee Kuan Yew becomes the first prime minister of the newly independent state of Singapore
Achmed Sukarno assumes dictatorial powers, operating an Indonesian policy officially known as Guided Democracy
The Vietcong, or NLF, is formed as a guerrilla force to liberate South Vietnam from the US-backed government
Saloth Sar, changing his name to Pol Pot, begins to build up the Cambodian Communist party and Khmer Rouge
Malaysia, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah form the Federation of Malaysia
A reported incident in the Gulf of Tonkin triggers US intervention against North Vietnam, in a significant step towards the Vietnam War
US President Lyndon Johnson launches a regular bombing campaign against North Vietnam
The Vietnam War enters a new dimension with the deployment of US ground troops in the country